Knitting needle



Jan. 2, 1951 M. VlTOUX 2,536,478

KNITTING NEEDLE Filed March 29, 1947 29 4 /2a 8 INVENTOR.

i2 MAECEL V/TOUX 9- 6 ATTOQA/EYS Patented Jan. 2, 1 951 2,536,478 KNITTING NEEDLE Marcel Vitoux, Paris, France, assignor to American Vitos Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application March 29, 1947, Serial No. 738,152

' In France April 11; 1940 7 Claims.

This invention relates to knitting needles and more particularly to mending needles provided with a pivoted blade.

Needles of this kind are known, and among these needles are such in which the movement of opening of the blade to effect the formation of the mesh, combined with the longitudinal displacement of theneedle, is caused by the action of the upper or lower thread of the preceding mesh on an integral component part of the blade or on a driving element which is distinct from the blade. 1 y l The difliculties met in the operat onof the present day needlesof this type are due, primarily to the lack of means for properly guiding and timin the co-operative engagement to the thread or threads of the mesh with respect to certain parts of the blade during its closing movement for bringing said threads towards the hook of the needle. In prior art constructions there is no continuance guidance of the blade by the upper thread or a continuous co-action between the threads and the blade which would tend to keep the upper strand in the hollow space of the blade. It is, therefore, an ob ect of thepresent invention to provide a construction which will over-. come these difficulties.

Anotherobject is to so form the body of the needle just prior to the closing movement of the blade, that the thread will be positively guided to the spot where said thread co-operatively engages the operating portion of the blade for the closing of said blade.

Another object is to produce a device of the character described in which the maximum sim plicity of construction and operation is secured.

Other objects and advantages Willappear as the nature of the improvements is better understood, and the co-relation of parts herein fully described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein similar reference characters are used to denote corresponding parts throughout the several views, and then finally pointed out and specifically defined and indicated in the appended claims.

The disclosure made the basis of exemplifying the present inventive concept suggests a practical embodiment thereof but the nv ntion s not to be restricted to the exact details of this disclosure and the latter, therefore, is to be understood from an illustrative, rather than a restrictive standpoint. g,

In carrying out a form of the invention, it was found' advantageous to provide a needle with a 65 The invention willbe more understandable 2 pivotally mounted blade which is actuated for closing by the lower strand of the mesh on a projecting part of the blade, below the pivot thread as viewed in the drawings, the said lower strand, being in contact with an inclined surface of the forceful impulse to the blade in closing directions The closing movement of the blade is then completed by the upper strand which engages a slot in the upper side of the blade and draws same down until it contacts the hook end of theneedla- Furthermore, the invention provides a, con-.

struction where the blade, particularly during the time in which it cooperates positively with theupper thread of the mesh, is in absolute or sliding positive connection with this strand; likewise, the ultimate action of the lower strand of the. mesh on the blade takes place in such a manner. that it always occurs according to a, definite law,.: regardless of the initial position of the mesh.

which position evidently may vary.

The positive connection between the blade and upper thread of a mesh can be obtained to ad-,-

vantage by means of the above-mentioned slot whose width is only slightly larger than that of the thread; the direction of the slot forms a rela-,

tively slight angle with the line jo ning the pivot of the blade to the nose formed by the said slot.

The guidance of the displacement of the lower;

thread of a mesh before and during its action on the corresponding part of the blade is preferably obtained by forming between th body of the needle and the blade an angle into which the' lower thread is forcibly introduced, before acting on the controlled part of the blade.

The positioning of the upper thread in place before it enters the said slot is preferably obtained by forming between the upper side of the needle body and the side of the blade which con-' stitutes an extension of said slot, a recess where the strand is located before entering the slot.

This positive positioning of the upper and lower threads is further improved by varying the section of the needle body to facilitate th engagement of the lower and/0r upper threads in the angles formed for them between the body of the needle and the two opposite sides of the blade,

thereby assuring that the blade cannot open at p the wrong time.

3 from the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanyin drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a fragmental enlarged view in side elevation of a needle made in accordance with the present invention showing the blade in closed position.

Figure 2is. a similar view but showing the blade; in the position where it is first engaged by the mesh threads. Figure 3 is a similar view showing the position to receive the strong closing impulse by the lower thread, the upper strand being aboutto enter the slot of the guide.

Figure 4 is a top plan view with the blade in said needle shank. Theneedle shank it is 'provided with the usual hook 14 at one-end tnereoi' with-which the blade cooperatesto form the mesh of the-article being knitted.

The needle shank it) has a recess 28 located upon its upper.edge which faces the hook M. The

recess 28 includes an inclined edge 32,.a straight portion and an inclined edge 22, which extends in the opposite direction to the edge 82.

The opposite lower edge of the needle shank. H! has an inclined edge 25 which extends in thesame-direction as the inclined edgezland which is located substantially below the. inclined edge 22.- Howeventheinclined edge 21 is considerably shorter thantlie inclined edge 22. I

The form of the blade 12 is clearly apparent from Figures land 2. The blade has an edge 2'! located fairly'close to the pivot l3, and firming an obtuse: angle with the edge 28,- constituting: a continuation of the. edge. 2?; The edge" 26 ex tends-up to the tip of the tail portion 25 oft'the blade I2. The upper edge of theblade' consists. ofia' round portion 2d and a IBCBSSTOI'. groove 15 which is somewhat wider than the thread. 20 adapted to be received in the groove iii. The? groove l5 terminates in a nose it which coopmates with the hook i4 of the needle shank.

In the drawings the strand engaging thelower edge of the needle shank is designated by the numeral l8, while, as alreadystat'ed, the strand 20 engages the upper edge of the needle shank.

lower'edge of the needle shank l0. Inthe fully open position shown in Figure2 the entire edge 2"Iand a little portion or" the edge 23 of the blade project below the lower edge of the needle shank l0. so that the edge 23 of the blade l2 and the edge 21 of the needle shank. form a V-shaped recess within which the thread ltmay'be located.

In the partially closed position, shown in Figure 3','it is the edge 21 of'the bladev [2 which. forms a V-shaped recessv forthe thread" 18 with 4 the inclined portion 2| of the lower edge of the needle shank.

It is apparent from Figure 2 of the drawings that a similar V-shaped recess for the thread 26 is formed by the straight edge 23 of the blade l2 and the inclined edge portion 22.

The needleloperates as follows:

When themeedle is in the. position ot maximum opening, the lower strand I8 of the mesh is about to-make contact with the side 21 of the blade, while the upper strand 20 is forcibly placed in the-recess 28. Thi theoretical position does not necessarilyocounin. actual practice; nevertheless, thearecess-28' provides that the mesh will be 10- catedv in.- the-zoneof. the recess limited by the inclines 22 and 24.

In normal operation the position generally occupied by the mesh is closely related to the position-shown in Fig. 2 which corresponds to the start of the operation of forming the mesh. In a subsequent position the. lower thread It tends to engage the angleiormed by the inclined. edges- 2| and 26 (Fig. 3), while the strand 20 occupies the recess iormed .by the inclined: edge 22 and-the front side 23 of the tail 25.. In'this positionand during the continuation ofthe upward movement of the-needle.- Ill, the lower strand l8 causesthe positive-opening of the blade by bearing-on. the lower projection formed bytne bend of the blade,-.

and this action proceeds untilthe upper strand 2U whiehis: locatedsin tne angle between the blade;

and the body engages the slot l5 whose width-is.

only slightly greater than the diameter" of the threadoi: the knitted goods.

thatv thearrangement. described produces. pool-- tive guiding means of the mesh strands onth'e body of the needle so as to definitely lead these strands'to the desiredpoin'ts I01 cooperating. with the blade. Specifically the upper inclined sur-- face 22 brakes. the upper thread Zaiwhichisretarded. asv it slides up: the incline, whereas; ou the contrary, the lower thread l8 definitely and suddenly-falls" oif the straight part of the needle. into a recess formed at. the intersection of the inclined surface 2i and blade projection l9.

This sudden contact results in a forceful impulse upon the needle to overcome itsinertia and start its'closi'ng' movement which is completed-by the upper thread 251 acting against the nose H5.

The upper thread is urged upwardly along the braking surface 2 2 by the edge 23 of tl e'bla'de l2" until it is brought into position adjacent thef nose It as shown in Figure-3.

It'will be seen that, according to the inven' tion; the movement of the" blade on its entire" travel is controlled either by the'lower or the:up--- 21 and28, and 22 and 23, with the movement of the blade then. following precisely that" oifth'ej mesh even during abnormal variations orrthe movement of the latter.

The. result is a much more positive: operation of the blade, any errors being practically impossible.

It may be noted that the bent form of the blade and the distribution of the masses of the latter are such that in the opening position they tend to maintain the blade in this position, thereby preventing any opening of the latter at the wrong time. Under these conditions the opening of the blade can take place only by the positive control of the strands l8 and 20 of the mesh.

Stopping the blade in the position of maximum opening may be obtained with greater certainty by making use of braking means as, for instance, the magnetization of the body of the needle or of the blade. This result can also be obtained by providing a spring 29 (Fig. 4) mounted laterally on the body of the needle, the bending of this body taking place in a notch 30 provided therein; the end of the tail 25 then preferably presents a flat piece 3| which facilitates the engagement of the blade with the spring.

It is to be understood that the above embodiment is not given by way of limitation as numerous modifications and variations may be had without departing from the scope of the present invention, one such modification being shown in Figure 5. In this form of the invention, the blade l2a presents a perfectly straight edge at the bottom thereof and is minus the inclined surfaces which produce the projection I 9 above described, the said straight edge and the lower incline 9 of the needle lfla producing a nook 8 for the lower thread to act against and actuate the blade l2a for closing movement. In all other respects the construction of this form is substantially the f same as that shown in Figures 1 to 4.

What is claimed is:

1. In a knitting needle having a needle shank, a hook at one end of said shank and a threadoperated blade pivoted upon said needle shank for cooperation with said hook in the formation of a knitted mesh fabric, a projection on said blade extending below said needle shank in the open position of the blade and forming a thread engaging edge on the blade for initiating a pivotal closing movement of the blade towards the hook when engaged by said thread, and an inclined edge on the lower side of the needle shank commencing in advance of the projection on the blade in relation to the movement of said thread and intersecting same to form a recess in which said thread engages and from whence it is guided to impart a forceful impulse to the blade at a pre-- determined point of its travel.

2. In a knitting needle having a needle shank, a hook at one end of said shank and a threadoperated swingable blade pivoted on said shank for cooperation with said hook in the formation of a knitted mesh fabric pivotally, a projection on said blade extending below said needle shank in the open position of said blade and forming a contacting surface for the lower thread of the mesh for initiating a pivotal closing movement of the blade towards the hook when engaged by said lower thread, an inclined edge on the lower side of the needle commencing in advance of the projection on the blade in relation to the movement of the thread and intersecting the blade to form a recess in which said thread engages and from whence it is guided to impart a forceful impulse to the blade at a predetermined point of its travel, the said blade being formed with a slot extending from its upper edge, a nose formed on the blade by said slot, and an inclined edge on the upper side of the needle along which the upper thread of the mesh is guided.

3. A knitting needle according to claim 1, wherein the inclinations of said edges of the blade and the needle and their relative positions are such that the impact of the lower strand of the mesh on the blade is independent of the initial position of the mesh.

el. A knitting needle according to claim 2, wherein the slot of said blade is slightly wider than the diameter of said thread.

5. A knitting needle according to claim 2 comprising a pivot carried by said needle shank and carrying said blade, wherein the slot of said blade forms a comparatively small angle with a line connecting said pivot with said nose.

6; In a knitting needle having a needle shank, a hook at one end of said shank and a thread-operated blade pivoted upon said needle shank for cooperation with said hook in the formation of a knitted mesh fabric, said blade comprising an effective thread-engaging edge for initiating a pivotal closing movement of the blade toward said hook when said edge is engaged by said thread, and said needle shank comprising an inclined edge located partly in advance of the said threadengaging edge on the blade in relation to the movement of said thread in the open position of said blade for positively guiding said thread on the blade.

7. In a knitting needle having a needle shank, a hook at one end of said shank and a threadoperated blade pivoted upon said needle shank for cooperation with said hook in the formation of a knitted mesh fabric, said blade comprising an effective thread-engaging edge for initiating a pivotal closing movement of the blade toward said hook when said edge is engaged by said thread, and said needle shank comprising edges forming recesses located on opposite sides of the needle shank in advance of said thread-engaging edge on the blade in relation to the movement of said thread in the open position of said blade for positively guiding said thread on the blade.

MARCEL VITOUX.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATEN TS Number Name Date 2,079,306 Skriwan May 4, 1937 2,081,515 Trejo May 25, 1937 2,240,152 Alric Apr. 29, 1941 

